PRADAN - Professional Assistance for Development Action

Works with rural communities with an aim to develop their skills to reduce poverty and provide livelihood opportunities

  • Started: 1983
  • New Delhi, Delhi

About

PRADAN(Professional Assistance for Development Action) works to help vulnerable communities in the poorest regions of India, with a special focus on w Read moreomen to help harness skills and earn a decent living. Further, assistance is provided to understand and access government programs and other entitlements. Additionally, Pradan works in partnership with other civil society organisations and the government to influence development policies. Its primary focus is to help marginalised communities build a livelihood with direct hands-on engagement and experience aiming to inculcate an overall change in the social, psychological and economic condition of the communities. Its strategy includes social mobilisation, food security, managing natural resources, building models of alternative livelihoods, market linkages and governance.


Issue

Poor rural communities lack social networks, are fighting hunger, facing reduced livelihood opportunities, have minimal exposure to good markets and governance and do not have awareness of the importance of managing their natural resources.

Action

Pradan empowers rural communities to collectively act for the larger good through organising skilling to help people earn an income. It motivates professionals to come forward and play a positive role in working alongside poor villagers. It partners with Government agencies and social organisations to create policies and laws that impact the community in a positive way and encourages development.

Sectors

  • Livelihoods
  • Gender
  • Governance
  • Health
  • Energy & Environment
  • Education
  • Water
  • Minority
  • Food & Nutrition
  • Animal & Wildlife
  • Agriculture

Sub Sectors


  • Dairy & Fishery
  • Dalit Empowerment
  • Health & Family Welfare
  • Micro Finance - Self Help Groups
  • Micro SMEs
  • Energy
  • Nutrition
  • Panchayat
  • Poverty
  • Women Empowerment

Demographies Served

  • Women
  • Scheduled Castes
  • Scheduled Tribes

Impact

The organisation has: Reached 4.7 million individuals across 8963 villages in 7 states of India out of which 66% belonged to scheduled castes and tribes, mobilised more than INR 2,230 million for the MGNREGS scheme and helped create 77,152 women's self-help groups.

Programs

  • Mapping the journey and impact of the PRADAN Alumni -A Tracer Study

    It is an attempt of the organisation to find out the extent that alumni from PRADAN has impacted organisations and the social sector across the country.

    The programme which included this study tries to find out which sectors got benefitted the most from the PRADAN way of working.

  • TASAR Hand Book

    A handbook compiled specifically for poor farmers involved in the TASAR silk agriculture.

    The book guides the reader through the various aspects of Tasar sericulture for poor farmers, including the livelihood viewpoint of Tasar sericulture, along with minute details of initiating and managing the activity in a sustainable manner.

  • Livelihood Opportunities in Broiler Farming

    The result of a research is another hand book which focuses on important aspects of small poultry farming business.

    The hand book talks about processes such as training of producers, intensive production support and market to help ensure production efficiencies comparable to industry standards.

  • NREGA Beyond Wages to sustainable livelihoods

    Its report on the The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) describes various provisions of the act creating awareness on its legalities, executing agencies and the responsibilities of State Governments and Panchayat institutions in implementing it.

  • A document on the Siali leaf-plate making activity

    This document talks about PRADAN’s initiative to create the Kandhamal Women's Leaf-plate Cooperative Limited.

    It describes how the organisation went about giving shape to a self-help group of women, provided training and technology to increase quality and facilitating market linkages improving turnover by 100% for the poor rural women involved in the making of leaf plates out of the leaves of the Siali plant.

  • Women Empowerment Programme

    PRADAN works to organise underprivileged women into self-help groups so that these groups can be formally linked to banks to access financial assistance. The groups also empower these marginalized women to raise their voices collectively against exploitation and violence.

  • Food Security Programme

    The organisation helps rural families to enhance their access to markets and crop selections. It promotes the cultivation of cash crops like tomatoes, chillies, cabbages, cauliflowers and broccolis ensuring a sustainable income throughout the year in addition to food security.

  • Water & Natural Resource Management

    It works with rural communities and families to encourage water conservation models leading to better irrigation outcomes and increasing incomes to an extent of 75% to 100%. It also promotes the cultivation of crops that use less water, installs water control measures and encourages eco-friendly technologies resulting in enhanced weather prediction to diversify risks through growing different crops.

  • Income Generation Programmes

    PRADAN promotes the participation of underserved people in income-generation activities like agriculture fruit orchards, Tasar silk and poultry. It has helped develop and set up many trusts and foundations which enable and empower the poor through sharing of relevant knowledge and provide specialised assistance in these professions.

  • Grassroots Governance Programme

    It helps excluded and neglected women upgrade their skills, access their rights and participate in village and district forums through mobilising, training and motivating them. This has led to many communities asking for their entitlements and claiming their rightful places in society also leading to increase in accountability of village-level institutions.

Impact Metrics

  • Households reached

    Year-wise Metrics
    • 2018 700226
    • 2019 834294
    • 2020 862360
    • 2021 889472
    • 2022 963324
  • People impacted in livelihood

    Year-wise Metrics
    • 2018 385765
    • 2019 495063
    • 2020 568479
    • 2021 619810
    • 2022 659309
  • Total villages reached

    Year-wise Metrics
    • 2019 8499
    • 2020 8648
    • 2021 8605
    • 2022 9127

Leadership Team

  • Vijay Mahajan

    Co-Founder

  • S.M. Vijayanand

    Chairperson

  • Rukmini Banerji

    Vice-Chairperson & Chief Executive Officer

    LinkedIn
  • Deep Joshi

    Co-Founder

    LinkedIn

Registration Details

  • PAN Card

    AAATP0345

  • Registration ID
    S/13434 of 1983
  • VO ID / Darpan ID
    DL/2017/0152350
  • 12A

    AAATP0345DE19844

  • 80G

    AAATP0345DF20121

  • FCRA

    231650101

Location

Project Location

Headquarters

#3, Community Shopping Centre, Niti Bagh

Offices in Cities

Delhi

Projects in States

West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi

Other Details

  • Type & Sub Type

    Non-profit
    Society

  • Employees

    100+

Website

Financial Details

 Income / Expenses
Breakdown
2021-22
Income
Rs.1,715,267,687
Expenses
Rs.1,748,994,898
Program Expenses
Rs.1,598,817,937
Other Expenses
Rs.150,176,961